There have been plenty of great FPS games over the years, particularly since the turn of the century. While the likes of Battlefield and Call of Duty have managed to remain relevant though, others have slowly faded away into obscurity over time. Despite this, however, many of these classic franchises still a hold a special place in the hearts and minds of those who played them in their younger days and TimeSplitters is definitely no different in this regard.
Thanks to their stylized visuals and fast-paced gameplay, the TimeSplitters games were incredibly popular with fans and critics alike. A fourth game was also in development at one point but was cancelled after developer Free Radical Design went into administration in 2007. Now, almost a decade and a half later, some of the team who worked on the ill-fated TimeSplitters 4 are finally ready to finish what they started all those years ago.
In a somewhat surprising announcement, publisher Deep Silver revealed that Free Radical Design will be reforming as an internal Deep Silver studio and is set to be headed up by two of the original TimeSplitters team. Not just any two either, but the series' co-creators, Steve Ellis and David Doak, who also directed two of the original TimeSplitters trilogy. Development on the new game hasn't begun just yet, but Deep Silver has vowed to update fans once there's more news to share about the project.
While the timing of the announcement may come as a surprise to some, a new TimeSplitters game has been looking increasingly likely for a few years now. Rumors first began circulating in 2019 when Ellis started working with THQ Nordic and these whispers grew louder when both he and Deep Silver began teasing the possibility of a new TimeSplitters game in the months and years that followed. This is the first concrete evidence that a new TimeSplitters game is happening though and something that series fans can finally allow themselves to get excited about.
This isn't the first time that the publisher has helped revive a long-dormant franchise, though, and some fans will be hoping that things go a little better this time around. Deep Silver previously worked with Japanese developer YsNet during the production of Shenmue 3 and the critical reception to the sequel was mixed. With the new incarnation of Free Radical Design being an internal studio, however, Deep Silver executives will perhaps be hoping to have a bit more control over the next TimeSplitters game to ensure that it meets both their expectations as well as those of the franchise's fanbase.